AACR22: dramatically lower survival rates in pediatric cancer patients from low- and middle-income countries

A new study has revealed that pediatric cancer patients in low- and middle-income countries were at a dramatically higher risk of all-cause mortality than their counterparts in high-income countries in the first 9 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study authors warn that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing global health disparities in childhood cancer treatment. Pediatric cancers whilst rare still represent the second leading cause of non-communicable deaths in children around the world. Muhammed Elhadi, presenter of the study and medical doctor at the University of Tripoli (Libya), explains “childhood cancers are often curable, but without appropriate and timely...